Sales book holder



Aug. '14, 1951 B." K. SLONNEGER 2,564,082

SALES BOOK HOLDER Filed April 28, 1949 INVENTOR BRUCE K. SLONNEGER HISATTORNEY L LMz/W' Patented Aug. 14, 1951 SALES BOOK HOLDER Bruce K.S-lonneger, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to The National Cash RegisterCompany, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application April 28,1949, Serial N 0. 99,099

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a sheet holder adapted to receive a plurality,or a pile of superimposed, individually removable sheets, such as salesslips and the like, and relates to improvements in the type of sheetholders shown in pending application of Bruce K. Slonneger, SerialNumber 69,389, now Patent #2,526,091, granted October 17, 1950.

One object of the invention is to provide a sheet holder of a simple,efficient construction, which can be produced at a relatively low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheet holder having acompartment for receiving unused sheets, and a closure which, whenopened, provides access to the unused sheets, and said closurethereafter provides a writing table for making entries on the unusedsheets, with a sliding drawer compartment for receiving used sheetsafter said entries had been made thereon.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includescertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in appended claims and apreferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described withreference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of thisspecification.

Of said drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a sheet holder, partly broken away, andshows a storage compartment and a storage drawer in open position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section view taken through the sheet holder,and shows the storage compartment and storage drawer in open position.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the holder, showing the storagecompartment and the storage drawer in closed position.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3, and lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the storage drawer.

General description The drawings herein illustrate the invention asparticularly adapted for use with sales slips or sales books, but it isto be understood that the holder may take various forms and may be usedwith sheets of various kinds, and the word sheet being herein usedincludes either a onepiece sheet or a multiple sheet unit comprisingupper and lower parts which may be detached one from the other.

\ having a bottom wall 28, side walls 2 i, and a rear The holdercomprises a bottom member, a sliding closure movably supported on thebottom member, and a sheet supporting member which is supported betweenthe closure and bottom member, and arranged to divide the space betweenthe bottom member and the closure into an upper compartment to receiveand support unused sheets, and a space for the reception of a storagedrawer which is slidably supported on the bottom member. The slidabledrawer provides a compartment to receive and store used sheets orcopies.

Detailed description In the particular arrangement shown, the bottommember comprises a shallow receptacle end wall 233. The front end of theshallow receptacle is open to receive a sliding drawer, in the mannerhereinafter described. The receptacle is preferably formed from a singlesheet of metal, drawn or otherwise formed to the desired shape. Th rearand side walls in the present instance are substantially the sameheight. The top member constitutes a movable closure for the receptacleand preferably comprises a flat sheet 24 slidably supported onthe sidewalls 2| of the receptacle, as by providing the closure with inturnedend portions 25, extending sidewise, which embrace and are slidable onout turned flanges 25 at the upper edges of the side walls 2!. In thepresent instance the closure 24 is provided at its rear end with adownwardly extending curved end wall 21.

A sheet supporting member, which is interposed between the bottom wall2d of the receptacle and the top member, or closure 24, is adapted toreceive and support a pile of super-imposed sheets 30a, and that endportion of the supporting structure adjacent the open end of the'shallowreceptacle is biased upwardly but is held normally in its depressedposition by the closure 24. When the closure is retracted, or moved toits open position, the upwardly biased portion of the supporting membermoves upwardly out of the receptacle a slight extent. The supportingmember may take various forms. Preferably it comprises a sheet 23 ofresilient material, the

H rear end of which is held against vertical movement and the forwardportion is biased upwardly.

pose the rear end portion of the sheet 28 is formed upwardly and thendownwardly to* form a U-shaped structure 29, adapted to fit over theupper portion of the rear wall 23 and to fit snugly about the same, thusholding the rear end of the supporting member against movement. At itsforward end the sheet 28 is provided with a rearwardly extending member,which overhangs the forward end portion of the pile of sheets 30a on thesupporting member. In the arrangement shown, the forward end portion ofthe sheet 28 is bent upwardly, as shown at 30, and then rearwardly toprovide a lip 3|, which is spaced vertically from the adjacent portionof the sheet 28. In the present instance there is mounted on the lip 3|a U-shaped element 32, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear, andthis U-shaped element forms a part of the overhanging member whichserves to limit the upward movement of the forward end portion of thepile of sheets 30a. The overhanging member rests on the outturnedflanges 25 of the receptacle to limit the downward movement of the sheet23 at the front end, thus providing space beneath the sheet for thehereinafter described storage drawer for storing the used sheets.

For the purpose of moving the front end portion of the pile of sheetstoward the overhanging member and holding the same against displacement,there is mounted on the sheet 28 a sheet retaining device having anupward biased part arranged below and engaging the end portion of thepile of sheets. In the arrangement herein shown, this retaining devicecomprises a sheet of resilient material 33, preferably of a length andbreadth somewhat less than the length and breadth of the sheet 28, andthe forward portion of the retaining member is rigidly secured to thesheet 28, preferably approximately midway between the ends thereof, asby spotwelding. The retaining member extends forwardly and upwardly fromits line of connection with the supporting member 28, with its forwardend below the overhanging member 32, and this forward position is biasedupwardly engaging the end portion of the pile of sheets with sufficientpressure to firmly grip the same and prevent the accidental displacementof the sheets, but to permit the sheets to be individually withdrawn.However, it is preferable to provide means for positively preventing thelongitudinal displacement of the pile of sheets 38a, and for thispurpose a bar 68 is secured to an intermediate part of the sheet 28, andhas at its rear end an upwardly extending part 8| to engage the rear endof the pile of sheets.

The upwardly biased portion 33 of the sheet supporting structure 28 isretained in its depressed position by the closure 24 when in closedposition. When the closure is in its forward or fully closed position,the position of the forward end thereof may extend either below or abovethe overhanging member 3|32, and when the closure extends below theoverhanging member, the end portion of the pile of sheets is depressedagainst the lower surface of the closure, as shown in Fig. 3. When theclosure is moved from its closed position to its open position the freeor main portion of the uppermost sheet of the pile of sheets may beseparated from the next lower sheet and elevated above the level of theclosure to permit the latter to be moved forwardly beneath the same, andthus provide a writing support for the sheet. Usually a sales slipcomprises two parts and a transfer medium is interposed between the twoparts so that the record written on the proper part will. also appear onthe lower part.

In some instances it is desired to employ a separate transfer medium orcarbon sheet, and the purpose of the Ushaped member 32 is to providemeans for attaching the end portion of the carbon sheet to the sheetsupporting member so that it may be inserted between the two parts ofeach sheet unit as the units are successively withdrawn from thereceptacle for use.

To attach the carbon sheet to the supporting member the U-shaped memberis removed from the lip 3 I, the end of the carbon sheet is insertedbetween the two parts of the U-shaped member and folded about the rearedge of the lower part thereof and the U-shaped member is then re placedon the lip 3|, thus causing the inserted portion of the carbon sheet tobe gripped firmly between the U-shaped member and the lip and to extendforwardly in line with the lower surface of the overhanging member.Normally when the holder is not in use, the carbon sheet will be withinthe receptacle above the pile of sheets and below the closure. When theclosure is moved to its open position the carbon sheet and the freeportion of the uppermost sheet of the pile are withdrawn and the closureis then moved forwardly in supporting relation to the withdrawn sheetand the carbon sheet inserted between the upper and lower parts of thesheet. The end portion of the closure is moved beneath the overhangingmember 32 and between the end portions of the withdrawn sheet and thenext lower sheet, and the carbon sheet extends forwardly in a straightline and is free from bend or buckle.

When the entry has been made on the withdrawn sheet, the latter isremoved as a whole from the retaining devices and the end portion of thewithdrawn sheet having no contact with the next lower sheet, the removalof that has no tendency to displace the lower sheet. The lower part, orcopy, of the record sheet is detached and inserted into the storagedrawer to be hereinafter described.

It is desirable that the closure 24 may be completely removable from thereceptacle. It is also desirable that means be provided to prevent theaccidental complete removal of the closure 24. In the present instancethe closure is provided adjacent the lower forward end, with one or moredownwardly extending projections 35, such, as small depressions, whichform stops. The ver tical length of these projections is such that theymay move over the upper edge of the rear end wall 23 and over theU-shaped part 29 of the supporting structure by slightly flexing theclosure after the depressions 35 engage with said lJ-shaped part 29,which normally arrests the closure when the depressions 35 come incontact therewith.

If entries are to be made at the lower end of the slip the closure 24provides a hand rest by moving it only a slight distance toward itsclosed position, as shown, for example, in Fig. 1. The novel features ofthe structure described above is claimed in the cc-pending applicationof Bruce K. Slonneger, Serial No. 69,389, filed January 5, 1949.

The sheet holder is provided with a sliding storage drawer for usedtickets. This drawer may be formed of a single sheet of metal,comprising a bottom 48, and two side walls 4|. The forward end of thedrawer is formed upwardly and downwardly to form a reinforced end wall42,

into the loop portion of the bottom of the drawer,

and also to frictionally maintain the drawer in position againstaccidental removal. The drawer is of sufficient width to provide asliding fit between the side walls 2| of the sheet holder. The sidewalls 4| of the sliding drawer extend upwardly so as to be on a levelwith the side walls 2| of the sheet holder, and the sheet support 28 isof a width to fit between the side walls 4| of the drawer. The inwardlyformed extension 44 'is spaced from the side walls 4| of the drawer asufficient distance to permit the drawer to be inserted adjacent theside edges of the sheet support 28.

When it is desired to insert a used slip into the drawer, the operatorgrasps the reinforced forward end 42 of the drawer and slides the drawerforwardly and thereafter inserts the slip into the drawer below theextension 44 of the drawer, as shown in Fig. 2. When the drawer isremoved from the holder for the purpose of removing the slips, theextension 40 expands to provide easier removal of the sheets therefrom.

To provide ameans to prevent accidental removal of the drawer from theholder, the drawer is provided with stops in the form of smalldepressions 45 near the rear end of the side walls 4|, which come incontact with upturned end wall 30 when slid forwardly. The drawer can beremoved from the holder by flexing the side walls 4| sufliciently tocause the depressions 45 to clear the end wall 30.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirablyadapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understoodthat it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form orembodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment invarious forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sheet holder of the type comprising a bottom member, a topmember slidably connected to said bottom member for movement relativelythereto, and a sheet supporting member supported between and spaced fromsaid bottom member and said top member, and biased away from said bottommember, in combination with a slidable storage drawer slidably mountedbetween said biased sheet supporting member and said bottom member, andan extension formed on one end of said drawer extending into the drawerand biased away from the drawer to engage said biased sheet supportingmember when the drawer is in closed position, in which position saidextension is forced toward the bottom of the drawer by the biasedsheet-supporting member.

2. In a sheet holder of the type comprising 88 a bottom member, sidewalls formed on said bot tom member, a top member slidable on said sidewalls, relatively to the bottom member, and a sheet supporting membersupported by said side walls between the top member and the bottommember, and biased away from said bottom member, in combination with adrawer mounted on said bottom member and being free to slide thereon,and an extension formed on the rear end of the drawer, said extensionbeing substantially the same in width as the width of the biased sheetsupporting member, and being formed to extend into and toward the frontof the drawer, said extension biased upwardly to engage the bottom ofthe biased sheet supporting member to form a guide to guide sheets intothe drawer and said extension being forced toward the bottom of thedrawer to frictionally maintain the drawer in position.

3. In a sheet holder of the type comprising a bottom member, side wallsformed on said bottom member, a top member slidable on said side wallsrelatively to the bottom member, and a sheet supporting member supportedby said walls between the top member and the bottom member, and biasedaway from said bottom member, in combination with a drawer mounted onsaid bottom member and being free to slide thereon, and an inwardly andupwardly extending friction device formed on the bottom of the drawerand biased to frictionally engage the underside of the sheet supportingmember to prevent accidental removal of the drawer from the holder.

4. In a sheet holder of the type comprising a bottom member, side wallsformed on the bottom member, a top member slidable on said side wallsrelative to the bottom member, and a sheet supporting member supportedby the side walls between the top member and the bottom member, andbiased away from said bottom member, in combination with a drawer freelyslidable on said bottom member and an inwardly and upwardly extendingfiexible device formed on the drawer and being biased to frictionallyengage the under side of the sheet supporting member to preventaccidental removal of the drawer from the holder, said device alsoformed to guide new sheets into the drawer.

BRUCE K. SLONNEGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

